happiness
Happiness, defined; things that help you find happiness, keep it, and share it with others.
Not Mending or Repairing But Recreating
Not mending or repairing but recreating When your favorite shirt gets full of holes what can you do? Deal with the heart break you simply let go. Throw it into the basket over your shoulder so you do not have to see it hit the trash pile. Although most of us would love to say that we instantly do this and can still be happy. More than likely, you would hang it up in your closet and reach for it the next time forgetting the holes and get heartbroken all over again placing it back in the darkness. Still, you do that over and over again. Why?
By Krystal Snider5 years ago in Motivation
Wuppie Power
Before I devoted my creative zeal to bronze sculpture I was in search of an art form that didn’t cost a weeks worth of groceries. Something I could do without tools or studio space. I was visiting my friend Steve in Topanga Canyon one day and he told me about an art fair he had rented a booth at. He made these cool little kinectic wood contraptions, very intricate with wheels and gears, when you turned a crank at one end, it would move the levers and sorted gears along the 15 inches to the far side where a tiny American flag would briskly wave. Whimsical and profound. He asked if I had anything I would like to add to it, it was three months away so had plenty of time to come up with something.
By Jan Portugal5 years ago in Motivation
Happiness is home.
I'm from a small island in the Caribbean called Jamaica, maybe you've heard of it. I grew up on reggae music, jerk chicken, sandy beaches and sunshine all day. Imaginably then, the spirit of a place has always been super important to me and my art. So take my sweet Caribbean conditioning, and wrap it in a burgeoning ambition to live and explore the world via New York City. And what you are left with is called a conundrum. Albeit a head-banger, that didn't stop me from taking the 1,500-mile flight into JFK, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. The sinking dullness didn’t set in until I had found myself a proper Yankee - living with my partner and our dog Storm in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn. Now, we're both creatives; we design, photograph, direct and produce to our little heart's content.
By Rashade St Patrick5 years ago in Motivation
My Looming Passion!
Who doesn’t love to create? We are born into a world with so many infinite things to do. Take, for example, my favorite hobby, which is looming. The yarn I use is first made synthetically or naturally with the wool of an animal. It is then spun into yarn by hand or by a machine. I then buy the yarn sold at a hobby shop or from a local spinner. What seems like magic turns a string into either a beanie cap or an enormously warm scarf. A very simple strand of yarn becomes clothing. It always amazes me how I helped it morph into something useful.
By Carol Eliassen5 years ago in Motivation
Confidence found in creation.
I remember holding my mom’s little sewing kit in my lap while examining the supplies inside as if they were hidden treasures. My mom tells me I was seven years old when I first learned how to thread a needle, and practiced hand stitches on the scrap fabric that was tucked away inside the little wicker basket. She still has it today, and nearly thirty years later I still marvel at the antique kit. I think that’s the start of my love affair with sewing and crafting. One of my first projects was a messenger bag that I created from a pair of blue and white floral printed, denim Guess shorts that belonged to my big sister. I cut open the seams, and hand stitched the legs together. I fashioned a strap to wear it cross body, and voila! My sister wasn’t too happy with me, but I loved the repurposed shorts turned into a school bag. I carried it to school that year, utilizing the short’s pockets for pens and pencils. It was perfect for the time as messenger bags were all the rave, but expensive, so I made my very own!
By Laura McClure5 years ago in Motivation
The Joy of Turning My Vision Into a Reality
I was a personal trainer for 20 years. I was lucky enough to have graced Hollywood, experienced international travel and enjoyed a successful career. But, like anything in life, things got stale. I wanted more and I wanted a change. I wasn’t using my creativity anymore, I was just going through the motions.
By Stephen Johansson 5 years ago in Motivation
Ties That Bind - Creating Happiness Through Sewing
In my family, sewing has been an integral part of daily life for generations. Hand sewing or "snipping and stitching", a skill that lasts a lifetime, is an essential part of the homestead lifestyle. You never know when you will need to mend a torn seam or sew on a button. Besides, frugality and necessity often dictate making or mending something rather than the expense of a trip to town to purchase it at the store.
By Marlene Affeld5 years ago in Motivation
Unobstructed fashion
As a fashion designer, I stand up for equality in fashion. My design philosophy focuses on inclusivity, enabling everyone to participate in fashion without boundaries. I believe it is my calling to create fashion that goes beyond stereotypes and tears down the boundaries, making fashion accessible for everyone - my collections are inclusive design projects, sets of garments primarily designed for wheelchair users and people living with physical disabilities.
By LILLA PÁZMÁNY5 years ago in Motivation
Let Love Be Your Legacy!
My life has been a series of lessons. All meant to not only be learned but mastered. As I move forward in this journey of happiness and self-discovery there is only one thing which always holds true to me. That is LOVE! As cliché’ and “cheesy” at it may sound love truly is my legacy. It is my happiness. I live my life from my heart with wisdom and logic. Creating a trinity of wholeness no one can fragment. I AM all that I AM! In this process to discover all the wonders one’s existence can create, I realized I have always been a creator.
By MyElle Love5 years ago in Motivation
" The wonder before my eyes creates good vibes"
I love to create mixed media paintings that refer to me moving in a space. The more I make, the more I realize how important movement is and how it reads in the composition of a painting. The series of work I've been exploring has elements of collage: I will often find myself using fiskars scissors to cut paper or wrappers from kombucha bottles and adhere those parts to the substrate. It is important for me to collage because there are certain colors or effects found in paper that I cannot recreate by mixing paint. Each painting begins outside of the studio, either walking or riding my bike by a space that calls to me. I collect visual information, observe frequently which opens a space for conversation with the locale and the feel the energy of that place. After I've finished absorbing and experiencing, I bring the vision to the studio and begin sketching what I saw, and felt.
By Patrick Oleson5 years ago in Motivation
Moments of Joy
Moments of Joy Sometimes all it takes is one moment to spark a passion like an inferno for the rest of someone's life. Other times that one moment is a small ember that is just there and slowly grows until more fuel is, one small passion sparking into a new one and setting off the fire of desire to expand upon that creativity until there are only opportunities in front of you. Just like a fire, that if you don’t tend to it, it might burn out.
By Caddy Calico5 years ago in Motivation
